Communication gap in the schools

“The achievement gap” is a bandied about in almost any discussion of public schools. State and federal funding is designed to flow to efforts to narrow the gap; increasingly teachers are held accountable for their skill in closing the gap; principals and superintendents are hired and fired on their ability to craft a strategy to close the achievement gap; school reformers claim charter schools do a better job at addressing the gap. The Chronicle Editorial Board began its interview of San Francisco School Board candidates with a question about the achievement gap.

And rightly so, as 10 of San Francisco’s public schools are among the lowest performing in the nation. Community concern about the gap between academic performance of low-income and minority children as compared to their peers is well placed, as poor learners will mean a poorly prepared workforce for increasingly demanding and technical jobs.

Yet research conducted by the Kettering Foundation found that in the target of these concerns — communities with low academic performance — few parents or students knew anything about an achievement gap or their role in closing one.

I asked the San Francisco school board candidates how they would communicate their concerns about the achievement gap. They all commented knowledgeably about “the gap” and noted the need to communicate about it better.

“Reach out to parents,” said candidate Jamie Rafaela Wolfe.

Emily Murase suggested better use of technology, citing the middle schools’ e-mail program called School Loop that kept parents in tune with homework assignments, tests and activities.

Omar Khalif said, “Get back to community schools.”

“Relationships matter,” said Natasha Hoehn.

A term like “the achievement gap” identifies a statistically measurable problem but it doesn’t convey a role for students, teachers, parents, school board members and the wider community in addressing it. Maybe that’s part of the problem — we need a new name. One that reminds us that this is our responsibility, not just the schools’ problem.